title: Lifetime treatment contact and delay in treatment seeking after first onset of a mental disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined lifetime treatment contact and delays in treatment seeking, including rates for receipt of helpful treatment, after the onset of specific mental disorders and evaluated factors that predicted treatment seeking and delays in treatment seeking.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study-2, a nationally representative, face-to-face survey of the general population aged 18-64 (N=6,646). DSM-IV diagnoses, treatment contact, and respondents' perception of treatment helpfulness were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of respondents with lifetime mental disorders who made lifetime treatment contact ranged from 6.5% to 56.5% for substance use disorders and from 75.3% to 91.4% for mood disorders. Delays in initial treatment contact varied among persons with mood disorders (median=0 years), substance use disorders (0-4 years), impulse-control disorders (4-8 years), and anxiety disorders (0-19 years). The proportion of respondents who received helpful treatment ranged from 33.5% for substance use disorders to 69.5% for mood disorders. Men, older cohorts, and respondents with younger age at onset of the disorder generally were more likely to have no lifetime treatment contact, to have longer treatment delay, and to have not received helpful treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There was substantial variation in lifetime treatment contact and delays in initial treatment contact by mental disorder. Lifetime treatment contact, delays in treatment seeking, and receipt of helpful treatment did not vary by educational level.
authors.forename: Margreet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: ten Have
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Graaf
authors.forename: Saskia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van Dorsselaer
authors.forename: Aartjan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beekman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D057210:Delayed Diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D009426:Netherlands; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012723:Sex; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D055815:Young Adult